DJ Campbell was finally signed permanently when we arrived in the Premier League. His link-up play and the leading of a front three was second-to-none, perhaps surprisingly. He also scored 13 goals without taking penalities in a struggling side, which is no mean feat. He became a true PL striker within months for £1.2m – a steal.

WORST

Andy Reid. It’s reported that we spent close to a million pounds to buy out his contract until the end of the season. He proved to be an overweight disgrace who didn’t care about the club and didn’t have sufficient quality to keep us in the division.

By JACK GAUGHAN, of Vital Blackpool website

BOLTON WANDERERS (1995/96, 97-98, 2001-)

Youri Djorkaeff. Probably the most significant in Bolton’s recent history. World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff came to Bolton in 2001 after falling out with German side Kaiserslautern.His first home game was a relegation derby against Blackburn, and his skill and ability stood out by some distance. Signing him was a risk, he could have been an expensive and high profile failure. His class and experience helped Bolton from being relegation battlers to European contenders. A consistent performer with moments of brilliance, Djorkaeff scored 20 goals and many assists. Set the ball rolling for more big name players heading to Bolton.

Jay Jay Okocha. Signed in the summer of 2002, Okocha was already an established international midfielder.It didn’t take long to see why Paris St Germain had spent £10million-plus for Okocha a few years earlier. Battling relegation, Okocha showed unbelievable skill and flair, scoring a goal of individual brilliance in a crucial match against West Ham in 2003. Although his latter days were a little inconsistent, Okocha was able to bamboozle the best defenders with flicks and tricks. A Roberto Carlos-style free-kick against Aston Villa in the 2004 Carling Cup semi-final is etched in the memory of many Bolton fans. Okocha’s influence was immense, becoming club captain before leaving in 2006.

Ivan Campo. In his first few games, Ivan Campo looked like a liability. Playing at centre-back, the Spaniard looked slow and lacking the pace to cope with the English game. Moving him into an anchoring midfield role was a masterstroke as Campo’s passing ability brought the best out of other players. Although not prolific, Campo did pop up with the odd goal including a 50-yard screamer against Tottenham on the opening day in 2006. Alongside Djorkaeff and Okocha his experience helped Bolton end the yo-yo years and challenge for Europe.

Nicolas Anelka. Bolton turned to Anelka in 2006 as their search for a quality goalscoring striker continued. It took a while for the Frenchman to find the net, but once the deadlock was broken the floodgates opened. He famously scored his first Premier League goal for Bolton against former club Arsenal, a 30-yard screamer after the crowd urged him to pull the trigger from long range. Technically brilliant, Anelka shrugged off the Le Sulk tag and was eventually sold to Chelsea for £15m in January 2008, for £7m profit.

Kevin Davies. Signed on a free from Southampton after failing to hold down a first team place. Davies came to Bolton with his career on a downward spiral. Scoring his first goal against old club Blackburn, Davies went from strength to strength, eventually becoming club captain. Davies has scored over 60 goals for the club, including one at Bayern Munich and a goal in the 2004 Carling Cup final defeat against Middlesborough. Often seen as one of the Premier League’s dirtiest players, Davies is also one of the most fouled, and his ability to unsettle defenders was recognised by an England call-up in 2010.

Gary Cahill. On the fringes of the Aston villa squad, Bolton signed Cahill for £5m in 2008, with many raised eyebrows to the amount of money spent. But it has been good value as Cahill has improved as an all-round footballing defender. Scoring seven goals in the 09/10 season. Cahill also went on to start for England the following season, and has become one of England’s finest young talents. Speculation surrounds his future and if big money is offered, a move to one of the big clubs beckons.

WORST

Mario Jardel. Jardel came to Bolton with an amazing goalscoring record, scoring over 50 goals in 01-02. He also came overweight and unfit and Big Sam didn’t take long to realise he wasn’t up for the Premier League. After just three goals, all in the Carling Cup, Jardel was soon on his way out. This was one foreign signing that didn’t pay off.

Steve McAnespie. When Bolton got promoted to the Premier League for the first time in 1995, many of their signings struggled in the battle to stay up. There were high hopes for McAnespie, a young Scottish left-back who was part of the famous Raith Rovers team, who Scottish League Cup in 1994. McAnespie failed to hold down a place in the first team and it wasn’t long before makeshift right-back Scott Green returned to the back four. McAnespie dropped down the leagues playing for Fulham and Cambridge United before moving back to Scotland.

Gerald Cid. Sammy Lee’s reign as Big Sam’s replacement didn’t last long, blighted by a very leaky defence, with Cid right at the heart of it.

Dean Holdsworth. There were high hopes for Dean Holdsworth after a big-money transfer from Wimbledon in 1997. Holdsworth failed to get the goals to help Bolton stay up as they got relegated on the final day of the 97-98 season. Holdsworth’s worst moment came at Wembley in 2000 missing an open goal in the FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa. Although he did find goals as Bolton gained promotion in 2001, Holdsworth’s Wembley miss and lack of goals in his early career cost Bolton badly

Danny Shittu. Signed for £2m in 2008, Danny Shittu made just nine Premier League starts for Bolton, costing over £100,000 per appearance. Shittu left the club by mutual consent in September 2010 after failing to make one first-team appearance during the 09-10 season.

By MIKE PORTER, of Voice Of Bolton fanzine

BRADFORD CITY (1999-2001)

BEST

David Wetherall. Joined Bradford City for a fee of £1.4M from near neighbours Leeds United, Wetherall played every minute of every game in the 1999/00 season. He capped off a superb season for the Bantams by scoring the winning goal that famously beat Liverpool to ensure survival on the final day of the season. Wetherall went on to play for Bradford City in all four divisions as well as managing the club in 2007. 12 years on he is still at the club running the youth team.

WORST

David Hopkin. I can hardly bring myself to type just how much we paid for this over-the-hill ex-L**ds midfielder – £2.5m. Just imagine what we could do with that sort of cash these days! After just 11 largely dismal appearances, we at least managed to recoup £1.5m of that fee by offloading him to Crystal Palace. But in my eyes he still remains unquestionably our worst ever signing.

By MIKE HARRISON, editor of The City Gent

BURNLEY (2009-10)

BEST

Steven Fletcher. Proved he was well worth the £3m fee by weighing in with a total of 12 goals eight in the league), as well as two against the North London clubs which were wrongly ruled out for offside.

WORST

Leon Cort. How can you describe him? “Slow” is probably the first word that comes to mind. He hadn't been booked in around five years when we signed him, which seemed remarkable, but wasn’t really as he never got close enough to the ball or man to commit a foul. I remember hitting the table at work when I read what we had paid for him – £1.5m.

By MARTIN BARNES, of Clarets Trust

CHARLTON (1998-99, 2000-07)

BEST

Paulo Di Canio. He was not just passion personified, he also possessed sublime footballing quality. Not only did the supporters respond to it, more often than not so did his team mates, and nowhere was that last point seen so pertinently than in his solitary season at The Valley.

Chris Powell. Little did we know in 1998 that the arrival of what appeared to be a solid, no-thrills left back from Derby for £825k would go on to herald not just arguably the most popular player in Charlton’s recent history, but also a potential manager of the club.

Claus Jensen. Having rose from the Championship on a diet of solid, committed team ethic, the arrival of Claus Jensen in 2000 brought to The Valley a sense of skilful, international class not seen since Allan Simonsen’s brief stay in 1983.

Darren Bent. His 37 goals in just 79 appearances not only secured him a club record £16.5m move to Tottenham, but will also see Darren remembered as the arguably the finest top level striker the club has ever possessed.

WORST

Cory Gibbs. The USA international defender spent over two years with the club after signing with Feyenoord and did not make a single appearance in that time.

Francis Jeffers. One of the few Curbishley got wrong. Previously known as ‘the fox in the box’, Jeffers went on to become ‘the sub in the pub’ during his ill-fated move to Charlton.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Charlton acquired a player who was a shadow of his former self. His goals dried up, scoring just four in 29 games, while his backside was expanding more rapidly than Starbucks in the 90s. A high wage earner, Jimmy Floyd Piggybank proved an expensive mistake as Charlton were relegated from the Premiership.

Djimi Traore. Yet another Dowie disaster. Traore arrived at Charlton following a £2m move from Liverpool in the fateful summer of 2006. Whilst supporters concentrated in advance of the season that he was a Champions League winner, evidence once the season began quickly suggested we should have concentrated on his calamity own goal for Liverpool in the cup versus Burnley. Sent off during the first half of his debut at Upton Park, things failed to improve for Traore as the season progressed and Charlton regressed. He was offloaded after just 11 appearances and five months with the club to the tune of a million pound loss.

Fernando Torres . £50m is a small price to pay to witness the bitterness of Dalglish, Hansen, Lawrenson and all those nice Liverpool fans who love to burn their shirts every time a Liverpool player leaves.

Frank Lampard. Seemed overpriced when we bought him, but 10 years later he is the most decorated Chelsea player of all time and has proven to be an absolute bargain.

Gianfranco Zola. Signed for just £4.5m and illuminated the Premier League for seven years. Loved by Chelsea fans but also respected by supporters of other clubs around the country.

Ruud Gullit. Brought in on a free transfer (although no doubt on a huge salary), he was past his best when he signed but still the most gifted player I’ve ever seen in a Chelsea shirt. Cemented his legend status by becoming the first foreign manager to win the FA Cup at the end of his first season as player/manager.

Mark Hughes. Signed by Glenn Hoddle in the same summer as Gullit, Hughes was a snip at just £1.5m. A cut above his immediate predecessors in the Chelsea attack, He was a major catalyst in the club’s progression from mid-table plodders to trophy winners.

WORST

Chris Sutton. Brought in for £10m, he always looked out of his depth alongside the likes of Zola, Flo and Weah. Just one league goal (in a 5-0 win over Man United no less) in his solitary season.

Robert Fleck. We had an agreement with Spurs that they wouldn’t try to sign Teddy Sheringham from Forest if Spurs did not bid for Fleck. We got the nicer guy, Spurs got the footballer.

Andriy Shevchenko. Great guy, fantastic work rate, brilliant goal at Spurs. But undoubtedly a shocking piece of business at £30m.

Brian Laudrup. Came in to a great fanfare, whinged a bit, dived a lot, and then left four months later because his wife was homesick. I was just surprised he had a wife.

Fernando Torres. £50m is a high price to pay just to witness one goal and a lot of bitterness from the likes of Dalglish, Hansen and Lawrenson. I’m going outside now to burn my new Torres shirt.

By KELVIN BARKER, Chelsea author

COVENTRY (1992-2001)

BEST

Dion Dublin. In four-and-a-half years with Coventry, Dublin established himself as one of the Premier League’s top strikers and during the 1997–98 season won the first of his four England full caps. That season, he equalled the Coventry City record for most goals in a top division season with 23 goals in all competitions.

Robbie Keane. During a successful season at Coventry, he played a major role in a stylish attacking side boasting the likes of Gary McAllister, Mustapha Hadji and Youssef Chippo. He scored 12 goals in 34 games, many of them showpiece finishes, and came to both national and international prominence.

Mustapha Hadji. African Footballer of the Year in 1998, the goal-scoring attacking midfielder was signed a year later by Gordon Strachan. A hit with the supporters due to his great pace and skillful runs Hadji formed a partnership with Moroccan international, Youssef Chippo, sparking a brief trend for City fans to wear fezzes to games in their honour. Hadji scored 12 goals in 62 appearances

WORST

Craig Bellamy. Signed for £6.5m as a replacement for Robbie Keane, the Wales international managed only six goals in 34 outings as City were relegated.

Kevin Drinkell. A Scottish League and Cup winner with Glasgow Rangers, Drinkell scored a rare on his debut against his hometown team, Grimsby, in the Football League Cup.But his goalscoring form deserted him at Highfield Road. He failed to score in any of his 15 league appearances in the 1990-91 season and managed just five in a total of 41 games for the Sky Blues.

Julian Darby. Was plucked from the lower divisions for Coventry City but should have stayed where he was. Best remembered for scoring two goals against Blackburn Rovers in the 1993/94 season that ended their title hopes he managed only three more in 61 other appearances

By PETER WARD, chairman of Coventry City Consultative Supporters’ Group